THE Riverland’s “biggest ever” poker event is set to give locals a chance at an estimated $40,000 in prize money this month.
Southern Poker Tour will next weekend host the first ever Riverland Rumble Poker Spectacular – including a main event tournament with an estimated $10,000 first prize – at the Hellenic Hall in Barmera.
Southern Poker Tour (SPT) spokesman Bill Kanakaris – who owns the company with fellow locals Mick Sparrow and Todd Rivers – said the success of poker in the Riverland showed there was demand for a large tournament in the region.
“It’s been growing in popularity for quite a few years,” Mr Kanakaris said.
“We’ve been having it here at the Hellenic Hall for nearly five years now and we’ve always been talking about putting on a big show.
“Being involved in the circuits we do now, we have 16-week seasons and a leader board. The winner of that wins a APT (entry) into the Australian Poker Tour.
“That’s where we got the idea of holding something a bit bigger, where we can invite people in and they buy-in to generate the prize money.”
Mr Kanakaris said recently relaxed border restrictions would see the event attract poker players from interstate, plus regional and metropolitan South Australia.
“We came back with this plan and we’ve been running events here where you can win entry tickets into the main event,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of interest from all over Australia, but unfortunately not everyone can come. We’ve got people coming from Mount Gambier, Port Pirie, Adelaide and Broken Hill now the New South Wales border is open.
“We’ve had a lot of interest and a lot of tickets sold online.”
Mr Kanakaris – who has experience playing around Australia with his fellow SPT owners – said poker events have provided a new social outlet for many Riverlanders during COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s laid back and stress free. We keep it interesting, but we don’t play for sheep stations,” he said.
Mr Kanakaris said the Riverland Rumble would include six different tournaments, with a total estimated prize pool of $40,000.
“You can buy in from $25 up to $330 for the high roller event,” he said.
“The main event is the feature event and hopefully we’ll be giving away an estimated $10,000 first prize for that.
“It’s a serious amount of cash and it will be the biggest poker event held in the Riverland.”
The Southern Poker Tour Riverland Rumble will run from Friday, October 30, until Sunday, November 1, with registration for the main event tournament opening at 3pm on Saturday, October 31.
For further information phone 0407 514 580 or email admin@southernpokertour.com.au.